ALF: The Complete First Season

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All Rise...

Unaware that the Animal Liberation Front had a new DVD in release, Judge Dennis Prince was temporarily confounded by the ensuing exploits of a wisecracking Muppet eager to dine on a housecat.

The Charge

"Ha! I kill me!"

Opening Statement

Bob and Flo Shumway could hardly have expected that their precocious
offspring Gordon would, some 230 years after his birth, become the center of
national attention on an unpretentious blue-green orb called Earth. Little did
series creator Paul Fusco imagine that this irreverent interstellar puppet of
his would succeed in capturing the hearts, imaginations, and wallets of TV
viewers, making Alf an global hit—one that even stood up to the
stalwart competition of Monday Night Football.

"No problem!"

Facts of the Case

Unlike another interplanetary traveler who succeeded in returning home after
a short stint on Earth (all thanks to a phone call), Gordon Shumway crashes into
the Tanner family's garage after narrowly escaping the total destruction of his
home planet, Melmac. Dubbing him "ALF" (an acronym for Alien Life
Form), the Tanner Family (father Willie, his wife Kate, and his two children
Lynn and Brian) reluctantly agrees to take in the furry fast-talker with a taste
for housecats. (The fact that the evil military would likely poke him with
needles if ever they got their hands on him was certainly a consideration.) And
so the misadventures begin, as the Tanners try to conceal Alf's presence while
Alf tries to fit in with his new family. Alf continually finds his way into
trouble, thanks to his biting wit, insatiable appetite, and uncanny knack to
break anything of monetary or sentimental value—not to mention his knack
for rattling easily-riled Willie's resolve to maintain calm in the
household.

The Evidence

Alf first aired on Monday, September 22nd, 1986, and became an
immediate hit in American homes. Practically the last of its kind, the show
(which aired at 8PM) was a situation comedy that employed genuinely funny
situations and clever quips, as opposed to the now-standard cutting remarks,
sexual innuendo, and "potty talk." (Remember, this was about the same
time that Fox's Married with Children inauspiciously began the trend of
lowering the bar for the sort of crass and cynical TV humor that would soon seep
into the world's living rooms.) Instead of catering to the lowest common
denominator, Alf surprised viewers by delivering a fresh brand of humor
while immediately shedding its potential to be just another "kiddie
attraction." By injecting a wealth of clever shtick and thick schmaltz, the
show proved, from the very first episode, that this sort of entertainment could
and would appeal to adults, and convince them to tune in regularly. It was safe
humor, and therefore very family-friendly, all the while sprinkled with numerous
pop culture, societal, and political jabs and jeers that worked extremely well,
given the presumed objective perspective of the visiting alien.

Alf rose to phenomenon status, though, largely due to his immediate
adaptability to the trends of the day. In the third episode, "Looking for
Lucky," the show opens with Alf alone at the Tanner house doing a send up
of Tom Cruise's gyrating performance of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and
Roll" from Risky
Business. In later episodes, Alf creates a music video for Lynn, poses as an
insurance salesman, and even slips into one of Kate's evening gowns, just for
kicks. Suddenly, Alf showed even more potential as a sort of "dress-up
doll" who could deftly promote and parody the styles and situations of the
day, similar to artist Michael Bedard's "Sitting Ducks" and Satoru
Tsuda's "Perlorian Cats" of the same period. This, of course, led to
the inescapable marketing blitz that pasted Alf's face and famous quips on
everything from T-shirts and lunchboxes to bubblegum cards and bed sheets; he
became a new mania for the '80s generation.

Credit creator/puppeteer/vocalist Fusco for making Alf work so well, proving
that delivery makes all the difference in comedy. He flawlessly manipulates
Alf's head and hands such that his mannerisms, gestures, and accompanying facial
reactions (curling of the nose, drooping of the ears, raising of an eyebrow)
result in some truly funny and well-timed laughs. It's true that not every
episode is a side-splitter, and a few even get a bit heavier than necessary
(such as Alf's romantic encounter with a blind girl), but by and large the show
delivers laughs at a rapid clip, fueled by what appears to be Fusco's own innate
rapier wit (see the gag reel on Disc Four of this set). The human cast is, as
you might expect, generally disposable here, upstaged by the furry upstart. Max
Wright as Willie Tanner is probably the most effective, as the continual butt of
Alf's shenanigans. Anne Schedeen performs generally well as Kate Tanner,
bringing a just-acceptable level of maternal nurturing and nagging. The
youngsters, Andrea Elson as Lynn (hottie alert) and Benji Gregory as Brian are
generally amateurish and easily dismissed, serving only to round out the family
unit yet without the typical angst of maturing children (and perhaps that's a
good thing in this setting). The nosey Raquel Ochmonek (Liz Sheridan) and
bloated hubby Trevor (John LaMotta) are sadly under-utilized here, but they do
perform their small roles to near perfection (see, e.g., the "Strangers in
the Night" episode). Partway through this first season, Anne Meara joins
the cast as Kate's mother and is introduced to the Tanner secret. Her presence
provides a bit more conflict for Alf—but nothing that turned out to be
especially noteworthy.

This much-welcome DVD collection of Season One's 26 episodes is something of
a mixed bag, however. First off, it's terrific that Lions Gate has seen fit to
deliver this set on a four-disc edition, providing a pleasantly distracting
stroll down memory lane for many of us, while illustrating Alf's actual point of
origin to those who've only come to know him through his 10-10-220
commercial spots (playing the foil to some recognizable sports figures).

Presented in their original full frame format, the shows start,
unfortunately, with some dubious video quality from the opening scenes of the
first episode. They appear far too soft; almost ghosted. Thankfully, the quality
improves as the episode continues along, as well as throughout the rest of the
episodes, leading me to believe the quality issues are the result of the source
material, and not necessarily the fault of a lazy transfer. Overall, the image
quality is good, though not as crisp as I'd prefer (again, likely a shortcoming
of the original masters). The coloring looks good throughout, always vibrant and
always pleasing to the eye. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo,
preserving the originally-aired soundtracks. It sounds fine and is always
clear.

Before moving on to extra features, it's worthwhile to point out that the
animated menus are among the most enjoyable I've seen on a DVD release. Each
disc features newly-filmed material of Alf as he rants into a telephone (on Disc
One, demanding an explanation from his agent as to why his show isn't yet on
DVD!), then impatiently cajoles us to make a menu selection. When selecting from
the episode menu, each selection includes a question-marked button for Alf's
brief synopsis. It's really a fun menu design and serves as an added viewing
attraction.

OK. Regarding the actual extras to be found here, Disc Four features the
bonus goods that, sparse though they are, are good to see included in this set.
They begin with the original unaired pilot episode, which features additional
expository scenes with the Tanner family before Alf's ship crashed. Comparing it
to the final aired pilot, you'll also find that several of the scenes were
re-shot, and a different look was adopted for the title logo. Next up is the
blooper reel—while it's a scant six and a half minutes in length and
sports a sort of crappy VHS-quality image, it showcases the quick and clever wit
of Fusco as Alf mugs and ad-libs through some fun flubs, never breaking
character nor lapsing in puppeteering precision. Lastly, you'll find some Alf
trivia and credits presented in static text format; nothing groundbreaking, but
perhaps of interest to avowed Alf-anatics.

Though presented out of original airing order (odd), here are the episodes
you'll find as they appear on the set:

Disc One:

• Pilot • On the Road Again
• Pennsylvania 6-5000 • Strangers in the Night
• For Your Eyes Only • Looking for Lucky
• It's Not Easy Being Green

Of final note here is that the discs are packaged in a rather unorthodox
manner, stagger-stacked on the two interior halves of the keep case. That is,
Disc Two is secured underneath Disc One (as is Disc Four under Disc
Three) such that you'll need to remove the top disc to wrest free the bottom
disc. I suppose this saves space somehow, but it's rather cumbersome to fiddle
with. Who knows, maybe this is how they did it on Melmac.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Of course, the biggest gripe Alf fans have raised about this much-anticipated
release is that Lions Gate (knowingly or not) has released the edited
"syndicated versions" of the episodes, not the original network
broadcasts. In essence, roughly 3-5 minutes has been trimmed, here and there,
from each episode to allow for more commercial time when the series migrated to
syndicated airing. No matter how purportedly insignificant the edits may be,
this simply does not pass muster in the realm of TV on DVD, and the folks at
Lions Gate (and even creator and participant Fusco) should be duly admonished
for such an act, be it an oversight or not. Also, I'd raise a charge of
negligence by not providing any running commentary here (speak to the pilot
episode at least), which is becoming an expected inclusion by many fans and DVD
consumers.

Closing Statement

It comes down to having to take the bad with the good here. Though it's
disappointing to see some of the aforementioned flubs inherent to this release
(with Lions Gate still uneven and inconsistent in regards to their DVD
offerings), it's good to see Alf make it to the digital medium, reminding
us all of how fun and inoffensive situation comedy can be. He hasn't lost his
charm, nor has his infectious likableness diminished, even 18 years after his
original arrival. He's fast-talking, unflappable, and family-friendly, and
that's always a good and entertaining mix to find in your DVD tray. Hopefully
the errors committed on Season One can be corrected for the remaining three
seasons, which will hopefully be traveling our way soon.

The Verdict

The release team at Lions Gate is hereby sentenced to attend DVD School to
learn the proper methods and means of delivering quality home entertainment.
Creator Paul Fusco and all associated with Alf are commended for their
commitment to good humor without need for a preemptory viewer rating system.
Court adjourned.